ALLOA native Grant Gilchrist will realise a lifelong dream when he lines up for Scotland in the Rugby World Cup opener against Japan at the Kingsholm Stadium in Gloucester tonight (Wednesday).

The Edinburgh lock is preparing for the biggest moment of his rugby career, but says he cannot wait to get started now after travelling the long road back from a serious arm injury that almost ended his dream of lining up for the Dark Blues on the world stage.

Gilchrist told Advertiser sport: “The excitement now is building for me more than the nerves and it is just a massive opportunity for me. To play in a World Cup is a dream scenario for me and I just can't wait to get on with it now. We feel a bit left out now because we are one of the last teams to play. It seems like the tournament is well underway and we are all left here chapping at the bit, but thankfully tonight [Wednesday] is our time. To be appointed vice captain for the tournament is a great honour for and it is also huge to be selected for the first game so hopefully I can out there and show what I can do and repay Vern for the faith he has shown in me.

“When I got the arm injury, I knew it was always going to be tight in terms of recovery time so I didn't rush it and just simply set the World Cup as my target to get back fit for it and that really drove me on in the darkest days of my injury. I got fit for the start of July, but I then had to work hard to regain my match sharpness and do enough to impress the coaches so I am just delighted with how that went. It is just an honour to be the opportunity to perform in a world cup and while the road there certainly hasn't been easy, it's been helpful to have that as my light at the end of the tunnel. Now it is about delivering a performance and not doing all that work to get here just to let myself down in the tournament.”

Tonight's opponents Japan sent social media into meltdown with their shock win over group favourites South Africa in the opening round of fixtures and Gilchrist believes it has now blown Pool B wide open.

He said: “We had done our homework on Japan coming in, they are a much improved team over the last few years and we knew it was always going to be a hard game, but then when they go and beat South Africa in the opener, it was a shock even to us. We had a lot of respect for them already, but I think after that result they have earned it even more. The first game in a World Cup is always a massive one because you cannot get off to a bad start so it doesn't change our mindset. We were always targetting this game as a 'must win' and so with them winning it really cranks up the pressure. It was inspiring the way they went about the win over South Africa, they showed a lot of belief and they got us all excited about the game and tournament as a whole so they certainly get a lot of respect from us for that.

“Every game will be difficult. Japan have proven they're a top quality side and we will need to be at our best to beat them. We then have the Americans who are a big physical team who we know well before we face the South Africans who will now have a point to prove so we will just have to take it one game at a time and see where it takes us. The way the group is shaping up now, it has been blown wide open straight away and so every game will be massive. The warm-up performances in Paris and against Ireland were steps in the right direction, but we never won the games and we know now that it is all about winning games here and that's what we will strive to do.”

The ex-Alloa RFC star has paid tribute to his former club for all their support over the years and hopes that both he and fellow Wee County native Kevin Bryce can do everyone proud over the next few weeks.

Gilchrist added: “It was a bit of a surreal moment to see Kevin Bryce getting called into the squad to make it two lads from Alloa in the squad, especially considering how we grew up together playing as kids down at Earlsfield. Now we're playing in a world cup so it's a great feeling. Obviously, for everyone at the club who have always supported us both every step of the way, we will be looking to go and make them as well as everyone in Alloa proud.”